Ad-hoc adaptive wireless mobile sound system

• US 8,233,648 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Sorek, Noam, Toledano, Eyal, Vered, Moshe
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gebreyesus, Yosef
• Application Number:
  US12/186,741
• Publication Number:
  US 20100034393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• Field of Search: 381/311, 455/3.01, 455/426.2, 455/554.1, 455/554.2, 455/555, 455/151.2, 455/557, 455/414.1, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 455/426, 370/324, 370/337, 370/338, 370/350, 370/503, 370/508, 370/509, 370/510
• US Class Current: 381/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An ad-hoc Adaptive Wireless Mobile Sound System comprises mobile phone nodes and a Master device for sending a query to the nodes, to verify whether they hold in their memory a specific song/track and to learn their music playing capabilities, for conveying to the nodes that do not have a specific file in their memory, a compressed audio stream of the file, for selecting, based on an answer to the query, an appropriate surround scheme that considers the mobile nodes capabilities, for publishing the surround scheme by which a playing role is allocated for each of the nodes, and for synchronizing the mobile nodes and to order them to play a stream audio file according to the surround scheme. In one embodiment, the Master is operable to select a compensating surround scheme when one of the nodes is found incapable of executing its allocated role during play time.

Claims

1. An ad-hoc Adaptive Wireless Mobile Sound System, comprising:

a) two or more mobile phone nodes;

b) a Master device for sending a message/query to said two or more mobile phone nodes, to verify whether they hold in their memory a specific song/track and to learn their music playing capabilities;

c) transmission means provided in the Master, for conveying to the mobile nodes that do not have a specific file in their memory, if any, a compressed audio stream of said file;

d) software for conveying, in a streaming fashion, the compressed audio file over wireless connectivity;

e) software provided in the Master for selecting, based on an answer to said query, a basic surround scheme/algorithm configuration that takes into account the mobile nodes capabilities;

f) communication means provided in the Master to publish said basic surround scheme/algorithm configuration by which a playing role/channel is allocated for each of the mobile nodes; and

g) means provided in the Master to synchronize the mobile nodes and to order them to play a stream audio file according to the basic surround scheme;

wherein the Master is operable to support continuation of the music being played by a substantially similar sound distribution despite a loss of a non-executable node found incapable of executing its allocated role/channel during play time by performing a Smart Recovery operation to minimize impact of the loss of said non-executable node,

the Master being operable during said Smart Recovery operation to select a compensating surround scheme, to allocate a compensating role/channel associated with said compensating scheme for said nodes other than said non-executable node, and to synchronize said other nodes so as to play said audio file,

wherein sound parameters of at least one of said other nodes are different in said compensating surround scheme than in said basic surround scheme.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Master is also operable to support the continuation of the music being played by a substantially similar sound distribution despite addition of a node at a later stage or joining of an enhanced sound node at a later stage.

3. The system according to claim 2, which is provided with means for the synchronization of each sound node that joins a sound network.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Master device is a wireless mobile device.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the Master is one of the two or more mobile phone nodes.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the Master is changeable.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the Master device is a dedicated device.

8. A method for the adaptive ad-hoc playing of music using a plurality of wireless mobile devices, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a plurality of mobile phone nodes and a Master device for controlling sound actions of each of said plurality of nodes;

b) publishing by the Master a basic surround scheme/algorithm configuration that takes into account capabilities of said mobile nodes by allocating a playing role/channel to each of said mobile nodes;

c) synchronizing said mobile nodes by the Master and ordering them to play a stream music file according to said basic surround scheme

d) when one of said nodes malfunctions during play time, selecting a compensating surround scheme by allocating a compensating role/channel associated with said compensating scheme for said nodes other than said malfunctioned node; and

e) synchronizing said other nodes so as to play said music file while continuing the music being played by a substantially similar sound distribution despite a loss of said malfunctioned node, wherein sound parameters of at least one of said other nodes are different in said compensating surround scheme than in said basic surround scheme.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

a) joining additional mobile phone nodes to the plurality of nodes; and

b) synchronizing the plurality of nodes and said additional nodes by the Master to play the stream music file while continuing the music being played by a substantially similar sound distribution despite the joining of said additional nodes.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein an automatic basic and compensating sound scheme is performed, based on sound capabilities of the plurality of nodes.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the basic and compensating sound schemes are preference based.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising conveying sound parameters for existing surround algorithms.

13. The method according to claim 8, further comprising providing extensions of new surround algorithms, to send surround decoding algorithms to client nodes that do not have the appropriate extension installed.

14. The method according to claim 8, comprising handling stream data.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein handling is performed by using standard existing protocol such as RTP/RTCP.

16. The method according to claim 8, further comprising allowing saving/caching of played stream for later playing.

17. The method according to claim 8, wherein a user is able to elect, in the case of an incoming call during music playing, to continue playing the music using a speaker phone, but taking a call using an earphone.

18. The method according to claim 8, further comprising Masters changing capabilities.

19. The method according to claim 8, wherein the Master performs the following operations prior to publishing the basic scheme:

a) sending a message/query to the plurality of nodes, to verify whether they hold in their memory a specific song/track and to learn their music playing capabilities;

b) following said message/query, conveying to the nodes that do not have a specific file in their memory, a compressed audio stream of said file;

c) assigning to each file a digital signature that is embedded in the file'"'"'s metadata, before sending it to one of the nodes; and

d) once the Master receives an answer to its message/query, selecting the basic surround scheme/algorithm configuration that takes into account the mobile nodes capabilities.